What Affects the Breathalyzer?
One thing that can throw the effectiveness of a Breathalyzer is the subject’s rate of respiration. If the subject breathes heavily and rapidly, he expels alcohol vapor from the lungs more quickly than it can be accumulated, artificially reducing the Breathalyzer results. Studies consistently show that running up two flights of stairs can cut a Breathalyzer reading by 25 percent. But this effect lasts only briefly. Dieters and diabetics are prone to be misread as having higher-than-actual blood-alcohol contents by Breathalyzers. This is because they have abnormal acetone readings, which are misread by the device as alcohol. For these reasons, Breathalyzers are a good field tool for determining a subject’s blood-alcohol content, but they are not substitute for blood testing. Breathalyzers and the Law Breathalyzer tests are admissible as evidence across the United States. In some states, it is permitted for a suspect to refuse a Breathalyzer test, but the fact he refused becomes admissibl
